


A PATH OF BONDS

by alizrak



Series: Last Known Trajectory [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: Thrawn Series - Timothy Zahn (2017)
Genre: Art saves the day, Chiss Ascendancy (Star Wars), Embedded Images, Family Reunion, Fear, Filoni: “I mean SOME of them we know are dead”, Gen, HERE'S SOME ANGST, Hope, Hugs, Investigation, Light Angst, Mystery, New Space Family, Oops, Past enemies, Post-Finale, Post-Star Wars: Rebels, Rebels Remembered, Searching, Space family, Truce, Unknown Regions, Wholesome, all the hugs, happiness, he made me do it, mentions of anakin skywalker - Freeform, oof, that could've gone better, time skip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-05
Updated: 2020-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:14:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23027608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alizrak/pseuds/alizrak
Summary: It's been 6 years since the Liberation of Lothal and, after following Ezra's last known trajectory, Sabine and Ahsoka have finally found a clue that will lead them to his current whereabouts, deep in the heart of the Unknown Regions... What Sabine doesn't know is that nothing could have prepared her for what they would find once they got there.Visions and prophecies have more than one meaning... and perhaps this fated meeting could be the first step toward a larger journey.[[NOTE: Illustration included at the beginning. Sequel to Last Known Trajectory]]
Relationships: Ahsoka Tano & Sabine Wren, Ezra Bridger & Sabine Wren, Ezra Bridger & Thrawn | Mitth'raw'nuruodo, Ezra Bridger/Eli Vanto, Space Family (Star Wars Rebels), Thrawn | Mitth'raw'nuruodo & Eli Vanto
Series: Last Known Trajectory [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1649764
Comments: 48
Kudos: 129





	A PATH OF BONDS

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sequel to a longer fic, [Last Known Trajectory.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14719869)

A green and blue planet came into view of the T-6 shuttle cockpit. Sabine’s fingers tapped happily over the ship’s control panel. She could barely hold back her excitement as the first readings came from the sensors.

The planet was habitable. More than that, it seemed to have a thriving colony.

“This should be the place,” she glanced at the older woman with a smile. 

“It should,” Ahsoka nodded. Her eyes remained on the small marble.

Sabine sighed with relief. This was their biggest lead so far. They had gone through so much after a year of searching. She had almost given up a few times, discouraged by what they found. 

* * *

  
  
  


The Empire had, in fact, tried to look for the 7th fleet right after its disappearance but the few survivors here and there from the Chimaera and the other ships coincided in that the bridge’s windows had been breached when the ship jumped and the blast doors refused to open. They had to use the escape pods to abandon ship, assuming Thrawn and the Jedi had died during the jump. 

Indeed. For months, the only thing Sabine and Ahsoka found was debris from the Chimaera or the other ships… But then, Ahsoka had become silent as they traveled to their next point through hyperspace and asked Sabine to drop out there.

They arrived in a small system, with a single hot jungle planet and a couple of blue moons. Scouting closer to the ground, they found a campsite. Sabine would have missed it among the sea of green but Ahsoka felt drawn there, too. The Force must have been guiding them, Sabine hoped. 

It was clear the small camp had been abandoned years ago. Plants had reclaimed most of it so when they explored further, checking the two primitive shelters, Sabine didn’t find anything of worth. Nothing that could clue them in as to who could have lived here. Of course, she wanted it to be Ezra, but without any evidence it could have been anyone… but just as she was exiting, something caught her eye. 

At the entrance of one of the shelters, there seemed to be a bunch of small stones put together. She ignited Ezra’s green lightsaber, burning away some of the grown vines and leaves covering the ground. There, carefully placed, was a circle of small smooth stones, forming the symbol of the rising phoenix.

“He was here,” Sabine breathed in disbelief, a sudden wave of emotion overwhelming her. “He got off the Chimaera alive!” She covered her mouth, filled with happiness. The first real sign Ezra had survived the hyperjump!

“There are no signs of human remains or graves,” Ahsoka said with a small smile. “So I assume he's still alive.”

“He left this here for me,” Sabine dried a couple of tears. “He must have left but wanted to make sure we knew he had been here.”

“Then maybe he’s not too far…”

They decided to focus their efforts exploring that sector at the heart of the Unknown Regions... but their progress was slow. They were forced to use system jumps as there were too many anomalies messing with their hyperjump calculations. Not even the new nav computer Sabine had installed was able to keep up with the chaotic changes in the hyperlanes.

This is how they came across a few inhabited planets. Their excitement turned sour when, on the first two, they were immediately attacked as soon as they were detected. Pretty much every other civilization was hostile or distrustful of unidentified ships and they hadn’t even had the time to figure out what language to use to talk to the inhabitants of these planets. 

Before approaching the next planet, they got lucky and managed to pick up some transmissions in the local systems. Most of them talked in Sy-bisti so Ahsoka made a point of teaching Sabine during the following weeks while trying to avoid them… but by now, Sabine was worried. Their fuel was running out and they would need to dock soon or risk getting stranded in the middle of nowhere. 

With no other choice, Ahsoka meditated silently for a while until she came to the conclusion to make contact with the next closest planet.

As soon as they entered the system, they hailed the planet in Sy-bisti, asking for a safe port to refuel and keep on their way. Even if wary, these aliens seemed peaceful and they allowed them to land with an escort in a space station in orbit. They presented themselves as Geroons.

“Pirates, raiders... we have lost too many to them. Only a few dare to go beyond the borders to trade,” the creature explained to Sabine as the engineers moved to refuel their ship. The sooner they were on their way, the better. “Why are you so far from home? No trade is worth this trip. You have traveled between dangerous stars, risk becoming slaves... or worse.”

“We are looking for someone,” Sabine explained, not really concerned for her own safety but for Ezra’s. They hadn’t found any signs of a fight at the camp so she hoped he hadn’t been captured by these slavers.

“Oh? Who?”

“Another human, one like her,” Ahsoka gestured to the young woman. “He was lost a few years ago.”

The Geroon eyed Sabine from head to toe. “One like yourself?”

“Yes,” she said straightening up and tensing. The way he had said it seemed to be familiar with her kind.

“Ah... I think I might have seen one, four or five seasons ago, I believe. With The Ascendancy.”

“Say that again... The Ascendancy?” Ahsoka raised her eyebrow.

“Yes. The Chiss Ascendancy,” the Geroon explained. “The blue ones. With red eyes.”

Sabine’s blood ran cold. “Oh no,” she whispered. Thrawn and his people must have captured him. “Was he alright? Where was this?”

“The human looked well enough, I suppose. As yourself here. I don’t know if they were male or female. You look the same to me. At least, not a slave,” the Geroon said sheepishly. “During one of our few trips, our ship had been attacked and we drifted out of hyperspace to that colony and needed repairs. The Chiss didn't want us there, of course, no one does, but they at least understood we couldn't leave on our own until our ship was fixed. Just like you,” the Geroon pointed at the ship. “While we waited and repaired it, the human came to talk with us. Asked us if we needed help with the ship. Very friendly, but they had to leave after that,” the Geroon chirped a chuckle. “To be fair, we accepted your landing because of that.”

“He-he didn't attempt to leave with you?” Sabine frowned. Why wouldn’t Ezra try to come back? Hitch a ride?

“Why would he?” the Geroon scratched their head. “The Chiss are powerful. They can protect their planets very well. It is good they don't shoot unless you shoot first, otherwise we would be blown to smithereens! It’s a good place to be, even if they get attacked more than the rest. They come to us for trading, rarely... not the other way around. They don't want anyone close to their colonies.”

Ahsoka nodded. “I understand. Even then… Can you tell us where this planet is?”

“They deleted our navigational records from the ships to protect their worlds from strangers,” the Geroon’s limbs shrugged.

“I see,” Ahsoka whispered looking down.

“But... I know the cluster of stars we were in,” the alien brought up a small holo device from their wrist and showed them a star chart. “Should be around these.”

“Thank you.”

“Good luck, travelers.”

* * *

  
  


And now, finally, they had found the planet… or at least that’s what they hoped for. 

As Sabine finished preparing their ship to approach, Ahsoka felt turmoil and fear emanating from her.

“Is something wrong?” she asked softly.

Sabine bit her lip. “Maybe it isn't him.”

“Why do you feel so?”

“If it was Ezra... why wouldn't he have tried to come home already?” Sabine asked, her grip on the controls tightening. “He could come back to us… to his family,” she looked at the planet ahead. “Maybe it's a different human. It’s likely a different human. I mean, what are the odds, right?”

“Whether the human they met was Ezra or not, I believe we are on the right path. And we all have our reasons to do what we do...”

“Yes. Yes. You are right,” Sabine sighed and looked at the control panel. “If these Chiss don't like visitors either, we will have to go into stealth mode. After what happened on those other planets I have fine-tuned the cloaking device… we shouldn’t be picked up on their radars.”

“They said Chiss won't attack unless you attack them first,” Ahsoka reminded her.

“Yeah, well, if they are anything like Thrawn, I'm not taking that chance,” Sabine huffed.

Ahsoka chuckled. “Very well.”

Sabine reviewed the results of their planet scan showing up as a holomap. “Ok, there’s one city and... a few villages? This is a small colony, so if the Geroons landed for repairs, it would have been in the largest city.”

Ahsoka remained silent looking at the holomap, furrowing her brow slightly.

“What is it?” Sabine looked at her expectantly.

“We should land… around here,” Ahsoka pointed out somewhere outside the city, among forests and farmland.

“Alright. That sounds good. We need to stay clear of the city for the moment. We can't risk getting found out yet. I’ll fly low. We should be able to take a look around.”

Just as she had said, Sabine took care to avoid the city and used the clouds to mask her entry, landing on the clearing Ahsoka had told her to. She changed the wings to their horizontal position, allowing the tall trees to cover the ship. 

“Alright, the city is like a couple dozen clicks from here. We should scout around and if we can get a few pieces of clothing I should be able to make a disguise...” Sabine said opening the ramp and placing her helmet on and Ahsoka covered her montrals with her white cloak as they stepped out.

After they had walked a few meters from the ship, they heard something.

“Stop right there,” a little fearless voice demanded in Sy-bisti. Sabine was startled and her hand instinctively went for her blaster but stopped realizing who it was.

“A girl…” Sabine whispered surprised. It was a little Chiss girl scowling at them. She must have been eight or nine years old. Her hair was long and straight, with a small braid falling to her side. Ahsoka was very still, her eyes grew large looking at the child.

“You shouldn't be here,” the girl glowered. “What are you? Pirates? Raiders? Slavers?” she said in disgust.

Sabine raised her hands in a sign of peace. “We are not any of those things,” she said in Sy-bisti.

“You came in sneaking! All the ships have to go to the city,” she shook her head pointing at the shuttle.

Sabine raised an eyebrow under her helmet. The girl was smart… and confident. She was right but there was something off about all this. If she was sure they were bad people, shouldn’t she be scared? Maybe there were more Chiss hiding behind the trees? Did she honestly think she could face two raiders on her own? “It's ok…”

“No. Turn back, now,” the girl demanded and then Sabine finally noticed what she had on her hand. A device… a familiar device. It ignited with a green light. 

_A lightsaber._

Sabine couldn’t help but gasp and she felt Ahsoka tensing at her side.

“Leave,” the girl called out again, doing the form III position, a defensive technique, one Sabine had become familiar with while she had trained with Kanan and Ezra.

“W-Wait... I'll take off my helmet. Ok? Please?” Sabine asked her. The little Chiss kept her defensive stance but said nothing else. She was certainly not going to get close, and for a second Sabine saw the shadow of doubt in her eyes. Perhaps she had hoped taking the lightsaber out would have been enough to discourage any raiders. 

Sabine slowly removed her helmet, and it was the girl’s turn to be surprised. She definitely recognized Sabine was a human. 

“We have one like that, too...” Sabine pointed to her waist and slowly reached to her belt for the lightsaber she carried. The girl’s stance wavered but her grip on the lightsaber tightened. Ahsoka stared at her without making a move or reaching for her own lightsabers. Sabine ignited it, a similar light hissing to life in front of her. “It’s a lightsaber. Where-... where did you find that one? Can you tell me?” Sabine asked hopefully.

But the girl’s expression had completely changed into one of realization and… terror. In the blink of an eye, she bolted back into the woods and ran away.

“WAIT!” Sabine called but Ahsoka placed a hand on her shoulder stopping her from running after her. 

“We will follow her but… let’s give her a head start,” Ahsoka told her glancing back into the woods. “Don’t make her feel chased.”

“Alright…”

* * *

  
  
  


“Let it reach back to you. It wants to make a connection, we all do. It's just a matter of opening up and letting it,” Ezra said looking at the little girls in front of him. He was sitting on the grass with a young male Chiss at his side, surrounded by fuzzy purple critters chirping around them, playing in the back garden of their rural compound.

“They won’t bite??” One of the girls asked, still a bit fearful, covering her hands. 

“Nah, they aren’t hungry,” Ezra chuckled. “But they can feel your fear. You need to remain calm.”

“I don't know... I don't think I can,” a second girl said with her hand extended towards the animals and sighed in disappointment when they didn’t react to her. 

The young male held her little hand. “You'll get better, you just need more practice. Reach as if you wanted to pet them… but with your mind,” he said closing his eyes and raising his free hand to them. After a few moments, the critters turned to look at him curiously.

Ezra smiled at them. “See? That’s how you do it, nice one Malira” he clapped, impressed, even though he noticed the young man was tired afterwards. It was still naturally difficult for the Chiss to do something like this but not impossible.

“But I practice a lot. It's very tiring…” the third girl groaned and laid back in the grass, letting the animals run excitedly over her. 

“Well, we can all try together, ok?” Ezra offered his hands to each girl at his side.

“Yeah, but Ravaa is not here,” the oldest girl said looking around at the garden around them and then at the woods beyond. 

“She finished her training routine earlier,” Ezra reminded her. “But now that you mention it… it’s almost lunchtime. She should have returned already.” 

Ezra brought up his comm. 

“Hey. Ravaa?” he talked into it but his own voice could be heard not far from them, where they had left their bags. “Oh great, she forgot her comm,” Ezra sighed and the other girls giggled. He rolled his eyes at them and turned to the young man. “Malira, would you tell her to come home soon, please?”

Malira chuckled and nodded closing his eyes. “Yes, of course, Master.”

That was Malira’s original Force power. A form of telepathy. Each of these kids had started with only one power… and they had slowly started to develop the others under Ezra’s guidance. Most of the Chiss force users were female and could only use precognition, just like Ravaa and the Navigators in charge of piloting the Ascendancy military ships... finding safe paths through the chaos of hyperspace of the Unknown Regions. Malira had originally wanted his power to just be gone, but now… he reached out just as Ezra had taught him. How much things had changed in the past few years… Ezra smiled warmly.

_Ravaa?_ Malira noticed Ravaa’s presence approaching.

_THEY ARE COMING!_ She mentally screamed back into his mind.

Malira stood up suddenly and Ezra mirrored his movement, startled and concerned by his reaction. “She's being followed,” he said, trying to sound calm, but the urgency was palpable.

Ezra immediately reached out too and was hit by a flood of fear. He ran towards the treeline.

“DAD!” Ezra heard her scream full of terror just as Ravaa came into view. He had not heard this tone in her voice nor felt this fear since… since the day they met.

She practically threw herself to his arms and clung to him crying. Ezra stepped back just enough to reach Malira.

“TAKE THEM INSIDE!” Ezra tried to give Ravaa to Malira but she desperately gripped at his shirt.

“What-? Who is-?” Malira helped him get Ravaa off him even if he was confused. Were they under attack?

“TAKE THEM INSIDE!” Ezra repeated himself and pushed them towards the other girls. They had stepped back, holding themselves in fear, not understanding what was happening.

“NO! PLEASE! DAD!” Ravaa wailed and kicked trying to get free of Malira’s grip and back into Ezra’s arms. _“DADDY!''_ She desperately screamed but Malira brought her with the rest of the girls and moved toward the house. The scream chilled Ezra’s blood. What could possibly have this effect on her? He turned to face whatever was coming from those woods, turning on his lightsaber, ready to defend them.

And then... _He finally felt them_... and his eyes grew wide in disbelief. 

Could it be...?

From the shadows of the woods, two figures slowly came forth into the light.

Sabine was carrying her helmet under her arm looking at him perplexed. Ahsoka walked with a staff at her side.

Sabine froze in her place. That was… That was Ezra. It was… really him.

_“S-Sabine…?”_ He whispered tentatively, half fearing this was an illusion, just a vision.

_“Ezra…?”_ A small trembling smile crept on her lips.

The lightsaber and the helmet fell from their hands. They ran to each other and crashed into a tight hug. They sobbed. They laughed.

Malira stopped. Him and the girls looked back in confusion. What was happening?

“I knew I could count on you! I knew you’d find me!” Ezra cried with a smile and lifted her a bit from the ground with his hug. He was now quite taller than her. Broader shoulders. Long hair tied back in a ponytail. He reminded her so much of Kanan and she laughed between tears. She was shaking with emotion and relief. Ezra was here. Ezra was alive! 

She stepped back a bit and punched his arm. “That’s for leaving with the purrgils! You almost killed us from the worry!” She then gave him another hug, another laugh. Her hands were trembling. 

“Ahsoka,” Ezra looked at her surprised. She pulled back her cloak. There was something ethereal about her… a greater wisdom reflecting in her eyes.

“Ezra,” she grinned.

“I… I told you to come and find me…” he had almost forgotten about that.

Ahsoka nodded. Indeed. She had promised she would find him and get back to him. Ezra stepped closer to hug her, pulled Sabine again for another hug.

“Thank you. Thank you,” he kept whispering to them, to the Force, to whatever power had brought them together again.

Sabine tried to dry some of her tears. “I'm sorry. We scared you…”

Ezra laughed, looking back at his dropped lightsaber and raised his hand, bringing it to him with the Force. “Yeah, you kinda did! And Ravaa did!” he sniffled and looked at the poor confused Chiss. He hoped they weren’t too scared. “It's ok! It's ok!” he waved and called in Sy-bisti.

Malira finally let his grip on Ravaa loosen and she slipped away from his grasp, running back to Ezra.

He beamed to Sabine. “I need to present-”

“No! Please! Please!” the girl practically jumped to him, holding to his neck, pleading in an accented Basic, crying, burying her face in his shirt. “Please don't leave. Please don't leave us!” 

Ezra froze realizing what was happening. “I'm not leaving you,” he held the girl back. “Breathe. Breathe,” he whispered, soothing her, until her crying stopped and she calmed to a quiet sniffling. He looked up to the women as he patted Ravaa on the head and rubbed her back. “Sabine, Ahsoka... this is... Bridger'ava'ashlan. My daughter.”

Sabine blinked in surprise.

“Please, don't take my daddy away...” Ravaa looked at her still with a few tears in her eyes.

The words hit Sabine like cold water. It had never occurred to her she would ever hear something like that directed at her. 

“I-I'm not…”

Ezra’s lips made a fine line. Ahsoka had a calm but concerned expression. “Ravaa…” he whispered and kissed her head. “I understand you are afraid. But she's not taking me from you. I have told you a lot about her. Remember? She’s Sabine! Sabine is…”

“ _Family_ ,” Ravaa whispered back peeking up from his shirt. She glanced back at Sabine unsure of what to say now… and a bit embarrassed with herself for how she had reacted.

Family. The words echoed in Sabine’s heart. It seemed their family had grown both ways after all.

Sabine crouched and smiled warmly at Ravaa. “Hey, there…” she tentatively offered the girl her hand for a handshake. Did the Chiss shake hands? Ravaa shyly reached at it and gave her a quick shake. Sabine grinned widely trying to put her at ease. “You were very brave back there.”

“What did she do?” Ezra asked with curiosity.

Ahsoka chuckled. “She thought we were pirates. She was more than ready to repel us.”

“Ravaa…” Ezra said with concern. She seemed to shrink a bit realizing she might be in trouble.

“Her Form III stance was impressive,” Ahsoka added.

“It is...” Ezra said fondly, waiting to see how she would react to Ahsoka. She crouched too at their side, offering her hand to the girl as well. Ravaa was definitely more impressed by her, perhaps because she had never seen a togruta before… or maybe because of her connection to the Force. The girl shook it.

Ahsoka had noticed when they arrived that the Chiss living here were opaque in the Force. Muddled, hard to read… but the young man and the girls here, this girl in particular, had a clearer presence in it. 

“Are they yours too?” Sabine said picking up her helmet and glancing at the little group that had stayed behind watching the scene unfold.

Ezra laughed. “No. Ravaa is the only one I adopted,” he got up and helped them stand. He grew silent for a moment. “They are... my students,” he explained, looking at Ahsoka.

“Are you training them to be Jedi?” she asked with interest.

“Ah... well, not exactly,” he scratched the back of his head. “Let's go inside,” he motioned them and approached the others. “It's alright. This is Sabine Wren, call her Sabine, and this is Ahsoka Tano, call her Ahsoka,” Ezra explained to the girls. Their eyes grew in awe recognizing those names and the initial fear seemed to evaporate.

“Sabine and Ahsoka??” the girls asked in Sy-bisti with excitement.

“Master Bridger has told us much about you!” 

“Your helmet is painted, just like he said!”

Sabine noticed there were other smaller houses nearby. Barracks? A place for more people to stay.

Ahsoka noticed this, too. “Are you training them by yourself?” 

“No, oh no. I wouldn't be able to handle them all myself,” Ezra shook his head. “I mean-... One or both parents live here or close by in the city. They all went out today to run some errands, they should be back soon,” he pointed somewhere up north. He gulped a bit and took a deep breath and turned at Ahsoka. “When we found Pypey and Alora, they were too young for that, but… From what I understand the Jedi would bring the children to the Temple to train and they’d grow up without their parents, right?”

Ahsoka nodded slowly. “Yes.”

“I… I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t break-up these families. I needed them to remain together. I’m sorry,” he said looking down hoping she wasn’t mad because he wasn’t following the old traditions.

Ahsoka placed a hand on his shoulder, much like Kanan had done once. “There’s nothing to apologize for. I see you have done what you think was best for them.”

“That’s part of the idea, yes,” Ezra said. They entered the main house and he motioned them to sit in the large living room. The girls rushed to sit on the same sofa. 

“So you are all Force users,” Sabine blinked impressed.

“Yes,” the girls nodded at unison. Ravaa had gone to sit with the other girls as well.

Ezra tapped the young man on the shoulder. “Malira has a bit of telepathy. Ravaa, Siana and Hilsa have precognition. Nera has telekinesis,” he touched the girls heads presenting them. “Malira and Ravaa have developed a bit of empathetic links with the Force. Chiss can’t-… they start out with only one power that weakens with age. It’s usually girls and precognition.” 

Ahsoka was taken back by this. Even Sabine frowned.

“Huh, that’s weird. I mean, you had all those powers… but you were not very good at them when you started.”

“Heh, yeah. With them is the other way around. They start strong and… they slowly lose it. I’ve been helping them with this… to open themselves to the Force, to not simply use it as a tool.”

Ahsoka’s attention focused on the kids with great interest. “I see. Do you know why this happens?”

“Uh, well, kind of…?” he sighed. “It’s a long story. But right now I want to hear from you! Tell me how everyone is.”

“Thankfully, everyone’s fine,” Sabine smiled but then she bit her lip with a sudden wave of regret. “I’m sorry, Ezra. I wish we could have come searching for you earlier. The war *just* ended.”

“It did!?” His eyes seemed to glow in expectation. “Did we win? Please, tell me we won!”

“Yes, we won,” she chuckled. “The Empire is gone. At least it’s disbanded. The New Republic is trying to get everything in order.” 

His excitement grew. “That’s great! And- and Lothal?” 

“Better than ever...” she assured him.

Ezra smiled and his eyes watered again. “I’m glad,” he whispered. “H-how did you find me?”

Sabine sighed, suddenly tired remembering everything they had gone through. “Oh, it took us a while. But we found the abandoned camp on that jungle planet.”

“You found the stones,” he said with a proud grin. He knew she would show up there. His plan had worked.

“Yes!” She nodded. “That let us know we were on the right track. After a while, we needed to land to refuel and resupply. We stopped at the Geroon’s planet and… If you hadn’t helped them when they landed here to fix their ship I don’t think we would have found you.”

Ezra raised an eyebrow. “Geroons? I have heard of them but I haven’t-”

“Yeah, they told us a human had approached them and helped them when they were on this planet not so long ago…” 

Ezra looked at Sabine a bit confused, but then realization flashed across his face. “Oh. Ohhh. I know! That must have been-…” Ezra couldn’t finish that sentence because a sound in the distance made Sabine’s skin crawl and she stood up in alarm.

“That’s… it can’t be…” she whispered. 

Ezra blinked trying to understand again, and then noticed the sound as well.

“Uh-... It’s ok. Sabine. It’s fine,” he gulped and went to the door, Sabine and the others close behind. The Chiss didn’t appear to be worried. The sound became louder. Something was approaching. Something that had given Sabine nightmares years ago. Once outside, she looked up and her blood ran cold.

“Those are TIE Defenders…” Sabine said, her voice tensing. Two white ships that closely resembled the TIE Defenders approached escorting a Chiss transport.

“Nnnno… not exactly,” Ezra grimaced in worry. “Uhm… Those are Chiss. It’s fine. I guess they must have detected your ship. Just stay here. I’ll handle this. I’ll explain,” he said taking a deep breath and telling Malira and the others to stay there as he approached the landing ships. He glanced back, noticing Sabine still looked baffled. It was going to get tricky to convince the CEDF they were friends, but hopefully he could make enough time for Thriss to come back and handle the rest. But when the ramp opened a human hurried out of the transport.

“Ezra!” Eli called in concern approaching him at a brisk pace.

“Eli?” Ezra gasped in surprise and ran to him to give him a tight hug.

“Ezra, are you ok? Are the kids alright? Are all of them here with you?” Eli stepped back looking at him from head to toe. Ezra was a few inches taller than him, Ahsoka noticed.

“Yeah. I’m fine,” Ezra nodded. 

“There was a sighting of a ship entering the system. Some people confirmed they saw it fly in this direction. You were not answering your comm,” Eli explained his reasons to be worried.

Ezra patted over his pants, and realized he must have dropped his comm link at the back garden when Sabine found them. “Oops, sorry about that...”

“We were in the sector. We came as fast as we could. I feared…”

“You don’t have to… It’s Sabine,” Ezra pointed back at the women. “She finally found-...” Some of the Chiss girls gasped while Ravaa frowned and called him in urgency.

“DAD!”

Ezra froze. Something was wrong. Sabine was looking past them in complete bewilderment. 

Sabine was watching as a new figure stepped out of the transport.

A man clad in striking white came into view.

A man that made her blood boil. A man that symbolized pain and loss of the people she loved, and a feeling that blinded her.

Her blaster was already in her hand. She pulled the trigger.

“NO!” Ezra desperately sent a ripple of push in the Force enough to deviate her blaster’s aim. The shot hit just barely to Thrawn’s right, over his head. As if they had waited for that signal, four Chiss guards rushed outside the transport, blasters drawn. The weapons of the TIE Defenders flared to an armed position.

“No! NO! Everyone calm down!” Ezra raised his hands, but kept his eyes on Sabine, only briefing looking back at Eli in concern. “Tell them to stand down. It’s all fine! Sabine, please! Lower the blaster.”

Eli looked at Thrawn who hadn’t moved and seemed calm, giving him a slight nod. Him and Eli spoke out an order in Cheunh, telling the guards to stand down and to deactivate the TIE Defenders weapons. The guards gave each other a serious look but did as ordered. The stranger had shot first… under any other circumstances, the Chiss reaction would have been _swift and definitive_.

  
  


Ezra approached Sabine with pleading eyes, but her own were still fixated on Thrawn. Her blaster still raised.

“It’s… It’s HIM! It’s… THRAWN!” she said, as if that was all the explanation she needed to give. Ezra knew what he had done! 

“I know. Please. Sabine,” Ezra tried again. He looked behind her, Malira had pulled the girls back but Ravaa had stayed. Her eyes big in alarm. Ahsoka had slowly moved to her side carefully… watching Sabine… watching the man in white… and looked at Ezra. They both knew he could have simply pulled her weapons away with the Force but that would not solve this. “Please lower your weapon, Sabine. It’s ok…”

“How can it be ok!?” she countered, her voice breaking as a few tears of frustration appeared in her eyes. 

“Do you trust me?” Ezra said approaching slowly. He had only felt her like this once before… the time she and Kanan had dueled in Atollon. Her emotions were raw and powerful.

“Of course I do! But I cannot trust him!” she said with a hint of desperation. Why was he stopping her??

“Sabine… he…” Ezra tried to find the right words with a pained expression. “He is-…”

_“Family…”_ Ravaa said moving to her left, looking at her expectantly, holding her gaze. Again, the word shook her, making her anger roll back like a wave, leaving only doubt and questions.

Family? HIM? How could this be real? How did it make any sense? But when her eyes returned to Ezra, she realized it was real. He had moved between them, a hand discreetly directed to his back, to the guards, another to her blaster. He was trying to protect them both.

Her hold on the blaster wavered as she felt a lump building up in her throat. 

But… but… _Thrawn._ He was…

Ahsoka gently placed a hand over her blaster, giving her a soft understanding smile. Sabine looked at her stunned but lowered it the rest of the way.

Ezra smiled and then slightly turned to Eli. “Everything will be fine…” he whispered back. Eli nodded at him and sighed in relief. “I’m going to check on him, alright?” Ezra told Sabine tentatively and Eli and Ezra hurried to Thrawn’s side at the ramp.

“Are you wounded?”

“No,” Thrawn glanced sideways at the scorch mark over them.

“I don’t think she ever thought she would meet Thrawn under these circumstances…” Eli said a bit tense.

“Yeah… Thank you for telling them not to shoot her,” Ezra said.

“Don’t worry. They won’t do anything… but I’m just concerned. Formbi is going to be thrilled when he hears what happened,” Eli explained with a sigh. 

Ezra scoffed at the mention of that man's name.

“Thriss will be able to handle him,” Thrawn said blankly. “In any case, it appears you fulfilled your promise.” 

“Huh?” Ezra frowned.

Thrawn gave him a small satisfied smile. “You said that the day she appeared, you would keep Miss Wren from ‘shooting me in the face’.”

Ezra rolled his eyes. “Ah yeah, that was supposed to be a joke…” 

“Of course… if I may,” Thrawn offered Ezra his own weapon, noticing Sabine was still observing them from afar, confusion splashed across her face. 

Ezra sighed. “I’ll handle this. Just give us a moment…” he said hurrying back to her side and looked down at her blasters, hoping she would offer them up too. Other than Ravaa, the girls had calmed down but were still visibly worried. Sabine pursed her lips and surrendered her blasters to Ezra. A truce…

“Let’s go inside, just you and me…” Ezra motioned to the house. Sabine took a deep breath and went in first. 

Once they were alone, she crossed her arms defensively, her frustration returning but, thankfully, more in control, focused.

“You can’t ask this of me.”

“Sabine...”

“After everything HE did! After all HE put us through! It was because of him you left!” She threw her hands up and pointed outside. “I spend days, DAYS, without sleep worrying he would hurt you! That he would torture you in vengance for defeating him! That he would-!” 

“He didn’t,” he said calmly, trying to diffuse the situation.

“He bombed Lothal!”

“Yes,” he said, his eyes hardening with a shadow of pain. He didn’t deny it. Then why- “How many dead were there?”

“What?” 

“How many did he kill in the bombardment?” He asked with concern.

“There were people hurt. Some buildings came down. It was a miracle no one actually died.”

His eyes brightened filled with a glimpse of hope. “Empty buildings, right? Abandoned.” 

Sabine raised an eyebrow. “You can’t possibly be implying he planned that.”

Ezra sighed in relief, one of the last worries he had kept with him for all those years leaving his shoulders. “Thrawn explained to me… he told me he targeted only empty buildings,” he said. It had been one of the things he wished, he hoped, Thrawn was truthful with. Ezra looked down with some regret in his eyes. “You ended up blowing the command the center after all, right?”

“Yes. That was the plan...” Sabine said. It had been their last resort. 

“I know. War makes us do things we are not supposed to do,” Ezra nodded to her.

A silence fell between them. 

“You actually forgave him,” she said. 

“It was more like a truce…” Ezra tried to smile, but right now he couldn’t. “Sabine. He saved me. He could have left me to die in the Chimaera but he didn’t. And… we kept saving each other from then on.”

Ezra could feel that Sabine was filled with conflict. It was so difficult for her to even grasp the idea that Thrawn could have ever done anything to save him... to help anyone... She was growing exasperated, but then… Something caught her attention from the corner of her eye. 

There, at the closest sideboard, were a number of holos and photos of Ezra with his daughter, Eli and others… but among them, a wooden tablet stood out. A wooden tablet with the drawing of Ezra’s old photo with his parents.

Sabine’s eyes grew larger. She reached and picked it up, carefully inspecting it. Ezra remained silent as she looked at the lines… the attention to detail… the expressions, the technique.

“Thrawn did this,” she breathed in disbelief. She saw the type of wood was the same from the trees she had seen on that jungle planet. “He did it back at the camp…”

Ezra nodded. “Yes,” he whispered. “I wasn’t well. I missed you all so much and… It was the only thing he could do. It gave me the strength to keep going. It’s not like I forgave him right away… but it started with this...”

She looked back at the rest of the photos, seeing some others where Thrawn could be seen in the background with them. Her shoulders felt tired… so tired. She gave a heavy sigh, placing down the tablet where it belonged. 

“I can’t forgive him. Not yet. It’s too soon for me…” she confessed.

“I understand.”

“But… I promise I won’t shoot him in the face again. Or stab him with the lightsaber,” she added, feeling generous.

“That would be great. Thank you…” Ezra said and they both chuckled, pulling each other in for another hug.

Sabine snorted. “Hey, if I offer to spar, can I at least punch him a little?” she said with a mischievous grin.

“Eh… I would say yes, but he can’t spar anymore,” Ezra laughed softly.

“What? Too old now?” She asked. Thrawn had fought Kallus and won before. She would certainly like to try.

“Let’s just say he’s missing more than a few bits inside,” Ezra grimaced sheepishly. “He should have died, but I think the Force wasn’t done with him yet either. If it’s any help for you, I have been keeping an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t do anything bad.”

“You saved him,” Sabine immediately assumed that was the reason and Ezra kinda shrugged nodding. “Are you his Force appointed parole officer or something?”

“Well, I guess…” he scratched the back of his head. 

Wanting to change the subject from Thrawn, Sabine gave Ezra complicit smirk.

“Sooo… the other human.” 

Ezra’s face reddened a bit. “Eli... Eli Vanto,” he said fondly.

“Are you... together?”

He chuckled. “Yes.”

She smiled at him. “Are you happy?”

“Yes,” he said softly, nodding. “In fact, it was thanks to him that you found me. He was the one who helped the Geroons fix their ship on his way back to the port.”

Ezra knew it was too much of a coincidence. It was surely the Force, weaving the threads of the lives of the people he loved together. There must be a reason for it.

Sabine grinned and affectionately punched him in the arm. She hugged him again.

“You really got a whole new family here,” she said with a hint of nostalgia, a bit embarrassed. “I’m sorry I almost got them to shoot at me in front of the kids.” 

“Hey, we can call it even… I got your family to almost shoot us twice when we met.” 

“Still…” she said concerned. She was now preoccupied she might have destroyed any chances for the children and his new family to trust her.

“It will be fine. You guys are as important to me… you know that right?”

“Yes,” Sabine nodded. “Our family in Lothal also grew,” her voice became softer. She needed to tell him about Jacen. “There’s someone back there you need to meet…”

“Hera’s and Kanan’s child?” Ezra smiled.

Sabine blinked, taken back.“How did you know? Did you have a Force vision or something?”

“Something like that… yeah,” he looked at her with a little sad smile. “I don’t know his name, tho.”

“Jacen… Jacen Syndulla,” Sabine said, a few tears building up again. He was going to be so happy when he met Ezra. And the other kids. The sooner the better. “Ok… If you can’t leave yet because of the children, I’ll try to bring him to meet you.”

“Actually, I don’t think you can,” Ezra grimaced looking at the door. “The Chiss are very picky about visitors. We are likely going to have to go to the Council and talk them down about you showing up here. But maybe we can come up with a solution...”

“I don’t know what the Chiss are so afraid of... Those Defenders surely can repel any slavers or pirates that show up.”

Ezra became silent and looked at her worriedly. “Were you attacked on your way here?”

“A few pirates early on… and not so long ago when we got to some other planets who didn’t want us there either, but nothing too bad,” she shrugged.

“There’s something you need to know...” Ezra’s face had turned serious. “I have not only been training the kids. There are many things out there… things I have been helping the Chiss to keep at bay. Dangerous evil things. I don’t know if I’m going to be enough for much longer and the kids are too young to even take such risk. It really might not appear so, but… we might need your help… and everyone’s back home, too.”

* * *

  
  
  


“Will Master Ezra be ok?” Siana asked concerned looking at the door. “She shot at Aristocra Mitth’raw’nuruodo…”

“He will be fine,” Malira reassured them. The girls and Malira had stayed behind, standing close to Ahsoka. Even if she was a stranger, they seemed to naturally gravitate towards her… something about her made them want to stay at her side for as long as possible. She felt safe… in a different way than Master Ezra used to feel.

“She was angry,” Nera commented not completely convinced. Ahsoka was about to say something but Ravaa shook her head.

“No. Scared,” Ravaa corrected with seriousness. “She remembered bad memories… My dad will talk to her,” she said knowing this had been difficult for Sabine. 

Ahsoka smiled. She had been worried when she had first seen the girl’s sudden reaction to their arrival, fearing the attachment she had would make her vulnerable to the darkside… but it seemed like she understood the root of that fear. Ahsoka could feel a great trauma in her past, one that she continued to fight. Bad memories, indeed. This time she had slipped because she was still just a child… but she could understand Sabine's fear and pain and what she might need too.

“You are right,” Ahsoka told them. “They will be fine.”

She felt the other human approaching. Eli, as Ezra called him. He had finished talking to the other Chiss and... Thrawn. The older Chiss walked a few steps behind Eli. Ravaa moved to Eli and gave him a big hug.

_Family._

Ahsoka smiled at him.

“Ahsoka, right?” Eli asked.

“Yes.” 

He extended his hand. “Eli Vanto. Pleased to meet you, ma’am. Ezra has told us much about you. He holds you in great regard.”

What a polite young man. “I feel honored,” she said accepting his hand.

“Miss Tano,” Thrawn said, keeping his distance and giving her a small respectful bow with his head.

All the other Chiss and Eli tensed, expectantly. Would Ahsoka be angry at him? Her expression was neutral... and then she nodded.

_“Mitth’raw’nuruodo.”_

They all were surprised by her pronunciation. Even Thrawn lips showed a small amused smile.

“Close. Closer than humans,” Thrawn tilted his head. “You heard the children call me by that name. I'd prefer if you could call me Thrawn instead.”

“Very well… Thrawn,” she said and then they both stayed quiet.

Eli took a deep breath and motioned to the shuttle. “Hey kids… let’s go over here for a bit… some of you haven’t seen the inside of the CEDF shuttle, right?”

The girls nodded excitedly and rushed together towards the ship. Ahsoka and Thrawn watched them from a distance and once they were alone, Ahsoka spoke first.

“I heard you used one of my tactics...” Ahsoka said relaxed, turning to look somewhere on the horizon away from him.

“ _Marg Sabl._ A masterful maneuver,” Thrawn confirmed.

“On other circumstances, I would be flattered but…” she glanced at him with a slight frown. “You did a lot of damage to the Rebellion. To them. To their family.” 

She wasn’t exactly accusing him, but stating a fact.

“I am aware,” he lowered his head. He wouldn’t deny it. “I understand my words will do little to gain your trust but... only time will tell. May I ask of the state of the Galaxy?”

She smiled. “The Empire fell. The Emperor was killed,” she said gauging his reaction. That didn’t seem to faze him. Maybe he expected something like that to happen?

“I see…” he said, clasping his hands behind his back, and after a brief pause continued. “...and Darth Vader?”

Up until now, she had carried herself with propriety and with a bright presence but it was briefly replaced with hesitation. It only lasted a second, but Thrawn saw it. She felt his scrutiny, his interest, and curiosity… one of the few things she could actually read from his Chiss opaqueness in the Force. Ahsoka felt the urge to return the same scrutiny to him. She looked at him, as far back as she was able to. Thrawn stilled. This was eerily similar to how the creature of Atollon had stared at him. 

She raised an eyebrow impressed by something, but at the same time Thrawn could read a hint of pain and sadness in her for whatever she had seen in him. 

_“Anakin Skywalker is dead.”_

Thrawn tensed. _She knew. They knew._

She continued. “He sacrificed himself to stop the Emperor and save his son.”

Thrawn looked a bit surprised by that information. Skywalker had been the one to stop the Emperor after all?

“A son?” He asked with interest. 

“Yes. He also had a daughter. Maybe you saw her before she became a leader of the Rebellion. Leia Organa. One of the youngest Senators ever elected,” she said fondly, but she was still analyzing his reactions in the Force.

“Much like her mother,” Thrawn said without missing a beat and Ahsoka was taken back. That… that was not something anyone else knew. At least not yet...

“Yes…” she said with a newfound curiosity. Thrawn seemed to enjoy this. They were playing a little game of knowledge and secrets… secrets that seemed to connect them to a past long lost.

“May I ask something else?” Thrawn requested.

“You may,” she said tilting her head.

“Why are you here and not with them?”

She frowned confused. “Meaning?”

“I assume Anakin Skywalker’s children are Force-sensitive. I conclude his son might have been a Jedi that perhaps tried to face the Emperor… and so, he had to finish him personally…”

“In short, yes. The truth has more details than that. I still do not see the reason for your question.”

“They are your Master’s children,” Thrawn glanced at the house where Ezra continued to talk with Sabine and then his eyes followed the children playing around the shuttle. “You knew their parents far better than anyone else alive now. Why not stay with them and guide them in your ways?”

“There is time,” she shrugged. “And I made a promise to Ezra. That I would come back and find him.”

“I see.”

“Also…” she added, almost whispering. “I owed it to him. I might have been wrong about something.”

“Oh?”

But she only gave him a small smile. In this little game of secrets she would keep that one... 

There, in the place between worlds, she had told Ezra he couldn’t save his Master, just like she couldn’t save hers… not the way they wanted at least. But then Luke had saved his father, from a certain point of view. 

So maybe… just maybe-…

At that moment, she saw Ezra and Sabine coming out of the house. Sabine looked at Thrawn and, while she couldn’t hide her disgust, she felt completely different in the Force. She hadn’t allowed her hate to eat her through. Good, Ahsoka thought. Sabine’s focus had changed… something else had taken priority in her heart and mind… something concerning.

Seeing this, Eli got closer, looking relieved things seemed to have worked out, in a way.

Old enemies turning down their weapons. A fragile truce between them. Ezra continued to be the bridge that connected them all together. It appeared like this was a fated meeting point for the next step on a new journey. A path that could lead them to redeem the past and unite their futures.

“Ahsoka, Sabine, Eli… Thrawn… we have work to do.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you so much for reading! Many people had asked me if I was planning on continuing [Last Known Trajectory](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14719869). This is what I could do for the moment. I made this as a tribute for Rebels Remembered, especially with all the rumors of the Star Wars Rebels sequel running around, I think it was the right time to share it.
> 
> ♥♥♥ I hope you liked it! If you did, please leave a comment. ♥♥♥


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